No Innovator's Dilemma Here: In Praise of Failure

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No Innovator's Dilemma Here: In Praise of Failure

An inventor's path is chorused with groans, riddled with fist-banging and punctuated by head scratches. Stumbling upon the next great invention in an "ah-ha!" moment is a myth. It is only by learning from mistakes that progress is made.

It's time to redefine the meaning of the word "failure." On the road to invention, failures are just problems that have yet to be solved.

For me, it started with a vacuum. When my bagged vacuum lost suction, I came up with the solution – cyclone technology. But having an idea is just the beginning. With a few rudimentary materials I mocked up the first prototype. Crude, but it worked (sort of).

From cardboard and duct tape to ABS polycarbonate, it took 5,127 prototypes and 15 years to get it right. And, even then there was more work to be done. My first vacuum, DC01, went to market in 1993. We're up to DC35 now, having improved with each iteration. More efficiency, faster motors, new materials.

When it comes to failure, I'm trumped by Edison who famously said, 'I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won't work.'It's a never-ending process that is enormously rewarding, and endlessly frustrating.

There are countless times an inventor can give up on an idea. By the time I made my 15th prototype, my third child was born. By 2,627, my wife and I were really counting our pennies. By 3,727, my wife was giving art lessons for some extra cash. These were tough times, but each failure brought me closer to solving the problem. It wasn't the final prototype that made the struggle worth it. The process bore the fruit. I just kept at it.

When it comes to failure, I'm trumped by Edison who famously said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won’t work." Those 10,000 detours resulted in the Dictaphone, mimeograph, stock ticker, storage battery, carbon transmitter and his joint invention of the light bulb. In the end, 10,000 flops fade into insignificance alongside Edison's 1,093 patents.

Instead of being punished for mistakes along the way, learn from them. I fail constantly. And I wouldn't have it any other way.There were fewer than 18,000 independent inventors in the United States, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 2009 statistics. It's no wonder the numbers are so few – invention is laborious, expensive and risky. It's hard enough without the patent system's murky waters.

With a backlog of 700,000 patents, the U.S. Patent office can take 30 months to process a single application. Encouragingly, reforms are on the way, with legislation meant to cut down on costly litigation. This means inventors can focus on what they do best – making things and making mistakes.

The ability to learn from mistakes – trial and error – is a valuable skill we learn early on. Recent studies show that encouraging children to learn new things on their own fosters creativity. Direct instruction leads to children being less curious and less likely to discover new things.

Hands-on, creative thinking through design and engineering is a way to avoid prescriptive learning. It's what we encourage through the James Dyson Foundation, an engineering charity which we are launching in the United States this year. Getting children to use their heads and hands, solving problems (and failing) along the way.

The current U.S. education system frowns upon failure. Teaching to standards and rote learning can keep children from creative thinking and generating new ideas. Four out of five schools in the United States were labeled as failing under the No Child Left Behind Act.

But is this the best measure? Rather than rigidly assessing knowledge retention through NCLB, we should be inspiring children to think creatively. Education should be about learning, not box-ticking.

We've come a long way in England, where Design & Technology is a core part of the national curriculum. Children are encouraged to learn by making things, and failure is an important part of the process. In my work with the British government, I advocate for design and technology education, making sure it stays on the national agenda, where it belongs.

At Dyson, we embrace problem solvers and let them make mistakes. We take on a lot of young people. Unburdened by experience, their minds aren't clouded with preconceived ideas of what can or cannot work. We don’t look for the glossiest CV. We're after bright minds who can tackle every stage of the design process – people unafraid to show their potential and take a few risks.

Many of our engineers in the United Kingdom are recent graduates, but there aren’t enough. The United States faces a similar dilemma as 27th among developed nations in the number of science and engineering graduates. This talent drought not only hurts industry, but impedes progress.

By fostering an environment where failure is embraced, even those of us far from our student days have the freedom to make mistakes – and learn from them still. No one is going to get it right the first time. Instead of being punished for mistakes along the way, learn from them. I fail constantly. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

This is the first in an occasional series of guest columns by thought leaders in disruptive technology and media.